In this Doubleshot Review, Everyview EIC Zac Pritcher and newcomer Brandon Majors (who is not related to Andrew) went on a romantic date to catch the highly anticipated Zombedy film Zombieland in theaters. Popcorn, soda pop, and blue slushies in-hand, the boys prepared for what they hoped would be the first successful mainstream zombie-comedy since Shaun of the Dead.

Pro tip: It blows Shaun of the Dead out of the bloody, corpse-ridden water.

Zac’s Review:

Anyone who reads the site even semi often knows that I love zombies. I’ve got a Resident Evil tattoo on my bicep, a tattoo of the word ‘Zombie’ on the inside of my lower lip, and huge collection of undead-themed adult DVDs (Zombie Porn) sitting in my closet. Call it a sick obsession if you want, but I simply can’t help it. I love zombies.

You can probably imagine the size of my bon — ahem… excitement when I first heard of Zombieland, the first Zombedy (Zombie Comedy. I coined it) since Shaun of the Dead that had the potential to be a mainstream success. Couple that with a pretty solid cast (Featuring Woody Harrelson, Bill Murray, Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg), and you’ve got yourself a potential must-see film.

The story of Zombieland focuses primarily on a group of four people who are on a journey across the country to an amusement park which they believe is the last place on Earth that has yet to be infested with the living dead. In an effort to keep from getting too close to each other in the possible event that one should become a member of the living dead, they all keep their real identities to themselves and are known only by the city to which they are originally traveling.

Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) decide to team up on their journey East until they run in to Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), a pair of deceptive sisters who introduce an interesting conflict (aside from the Zombie apocalypse, of course) as well as a curious love interest for Columbus. After the sisters steal Columbus’ and Tallahassee’s vehicle and weapons, the destination changes from East to West in an attempt to catch the two sisters.

From here plenty of hilarious antics occur, and there is quite a bit of deep character development, depicted through both the growing friendship between the four main characters but also through a series of flashbacks that shows what life before the Zombie outbreak was like.

The quartet run into several occasions where the slaughter of Zombies is a necessity, and these killings are shown in some very creative, bloody, and satisfying methods. Survival is made possible through Columbus’ list for survival techniques, which play a small but integral role throughout the film. It’s always interesting to see which rules will apply to which scenarios, but sadly only a handful of rules are made known throughout the film.

Before closing, I must warn you that Zombieland may not be exactly what you are expecting. It’s better. Instead of a bumbling comedy which relies purely on blood and gore for substance, it hits a wide variety of genres and evokes an even wider range of emotions. Of course you are going to laugh your jiggly little ass off, but you’re also going to jump at cheap scares, you’ll develop a curiosity for the love interest between Columbus and Wichita, and there’s even a brief moment in the film where I almost cried.

Final Words:

Zombieland is an excellent concept with a stellar script, some creative kills, and a group of actors that bring the whole thing together brilliantly. The movie is gut-bustingly hilarious, entertaining, and extremely satisfying. The inclusion of Bill Murray is fantastic, and some of the biggest laughs happen when he’s around, but the decaying human flesh and potatoes of this movie is in the zombie killing. And trust me, there’s enough to satisfy even the sickest SOBs in this movie.

Zombieland is a highly, highly recommended theater experience.

Pros

• Zombies, zombies, zombies
• Actors do an excellent job
• Brilliant kills
• Hilarious, but hits a wide range of emotions

Cons

• Not enough focus on the Rules of Survival
• Kill of the Week was a good idea, but more stellar kills could’ve been incorporated. Maybe more will find their way into the DVD/Blu Ray disc when it is released

Score: 9.25/10 (Outstanding)

Brandon’s Review:

First off, WOODY FUCKING HARRELSON, AND BILL FUCKING MURRAY! (Of course those aren’t there real middle names!) Now, on to the review!

I’m going to go ahead and say it. I can’t express how amazing this film was! It’s a breathe of fresh, flesh and blood scented air. The movie was fantastic! It covered a large scale of genre’s from action to comedy to love stories, and it was even a handy dandy survival guide for all of you newb zombie planners.

The best part of this movie was that it never seemed to have a lot of down time. By that I mean there was never a moment where one of the above mentioned themes wasn’t working in its own way.  Not mention the underlying survival guide/personal rules that Columbus (Eisenberg) talks about and follows throughout the course of the movie.

Zombieland also gets major points for a terrific cast. We have a group of good actors (and two amazing ones) that have been in recent hit movies. My co-writer has taken care of the basics, so that should already be outlined in part one. Woody Harrelson played a crazed southerner with a pension for Twinkies, guns, and Cadillacs, while Bill Murray played himself in zombie drag (if that’s what you would call it.) All in all I’d say the movie is a MUST for any and all zombie maniacs, thought I don’t want to give too much away.

Pros:

• All star cast, even if some names don’t ring a bell.
• Woody Harrelson
• Bill Fucking Murray
• Great combination of many elements

Cons:

• Seemed short
  
• Kill of the week isn’t used much
• It only really talks about a few of Columbus’ rules, more would have been nice

Overall: 9.5/10 (Outstanding)